[Blazin72]

Not sure which is the appropriate place to post my question so I posted it here.

I need to install a brake controller on my pickup and I'd like to know what you guys prefer?

Up until this point I've just relied on the brakes on the truck but I would like to make use of the electric brakes on the trailer as well.

The truck is a 2000 Silverado 3/4 ton. I'm also under the assumption that the harness has provisions for a controller and 7 pin connector. Does anybody know if this is true or am I going to be splicing wires?

[matt167]

I have a '95 1500 with a cheap time delay brake controller. all of the light wiring is done nice and neat, and is all plug and play with adapter harnesses. I checked it out after overlooking the mess my old Ranger had for the brake controller, which had everything from duct tape to romex cable hooking it up..

http://www.etrailer.com/faq-brakecontroller.aspx

I can't offer any advice for which controller is best.. time delays are cheap and easy to set up, but proportional stops smoother.. most seem to like the Prodigy's which are proportional

[75gmck25]

I have a 2000 Expedition and it was prewired for a controller, even though it did not have a trailer tow package.

I bought a 7 pin trailer connector upgrade kit (Hoppy or Draw-Tite) that included the 7 pin connector for the back, fuses and relays to upgrade my Ford. All the wiring to the back of the truck was already there, but only connected to a four pin connector before I installed the upgrade. It was fairly expensive for the kit ($50), but it had all the right parts. There were GM kits also, but I did not look at them. Wal-mart sells the 7 pin connector upgrade as a separate part for about $25-30, but it does not have the fuses and relays.

I also had to buy the wire pigtail that goes from the controller to the plug under the dash in the vehicle, and I got that at U-haul. Once I wired the pigtail onto the controller, it just plugged into the factory plug under the dash.

A also remember there being an issue with the trailer package wire colors changing on certain years of the GM trucks in the early 2000's. Some folks used the old wiring diagram by mistake and caused the trailer brakes to come on all the time. Make sure you get the right color codes.

Inertia vs. timed brake controllers is always a discussion in trailer forums. I'd read through them and come to your own conclusion.

Bruce

[delawarebill]

i do believe the tk is already wired for it under the dash. BUT, if u are goiing to use LED lights on trl u need to replace the lighting control module or it may burn out.. i'm thinking its about $60 bucks. its located at the base of the steering column under the sm panel. google for a chebby truck web site and u should fine it there.. i did a friends chebby but it was an '05.

[joe_padavano]

Can't say if your truck is pre-wired or not. My 1999 K3500 Chevy was NOT, despite ordering the trailering package. What I got was an extra blue wire in the harness for the trailer brake circuit and a brake light feed pigtail under the dash to trigger the brake controller. That's it. If I had not ordered the trailering package, I wouldn't even have gotten these wires.

Now my 1999 is the old body style. Your 2000 new body style, so I don't know if your truck is different or not, or if it has the trailering package or not. In any case, wiring the controller was trivial. Power, ground, trigger, and the brake output were all that was required. The brake output wire was factory routed to the back bumper, so that was easy to connect to the trailer plug. There was an under-hood junction block, so I connected the fused power wire to it.